EP PREMIERE: Zillanova - The Fader

Melbourne soul duo Zillanova have returned after nearly four years away from the spotlight with their new EP The Fader, and we genuinely mean it when we say we're thrilled to be premiering the fresh three-track release today.

As recently covered in our weekly series, This One Time, On Bandcamp, The Fader is Zillanova's second 7" EP but the first with its present line-up, which includes HopeStreet Recordings founder/producer Bob Knob and frontman Joshua Tavares, younger brother to renowned muso (and Zillanova alum) Cisco Tavares.

Having whetted our appetite on the EP's sensational title track over the past few weeks (we previously described it as "a positively silken slice of sensual organ-lined grooves and velvet vocals that sit in the ears like the warmest of aural hugs" so, yeah, we're into it), we're stoked to say that the new-look Zillanova — the recording line-up for whom also includes members of The Bombay Royale, The PutBacks and Quarter Street — is much more than a one-trick pony.

Both follow-up tracks on the release (The Glasgow Coma Scale and Let's Break Up Again) continue to ably demonstrate the core pair's penchant for gleefully vintage-sounding tunes steeped in lessons learnt from a lifetime in the school of soul-and-surrounds. The trio of songs are intelligently arranged, eminently accessible and deeply enjoyable; Zillanova are absolutely free of posturing or any outward desire to be "cool", and unarguably all the cooler for it.

The band have described The Fader as "a new phase in the Zillanova project", and we should all be hoping that it's the first release of many to come from these talented musicians.

Pre-orders are available now via HopeStreet Recordings' website; the EP will be released tomorrow, 24 February.

You can read more about Zillanova's history and previous releases here.

And, if you're in the area, the band will be launching The Fader with a special show at The Toff In Town on 22 March, with support from Allysha Joy and Karate Boogaloo (great name).

Full details are available in theGuide.